China Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

The China stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 15 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,215-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on profit taking and reduced optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are expected to trend in the latter direction.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the properties were offset by support from the financials and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 6.36 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 3,216.67 after trading between 3,210.47 and 3,245.60. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 9.74 points or 0.48 percent to end at 2,027.74.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China strengthened 1.51 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.79 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 1.85 percent, China Merchants Bank advanced 0.93 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.07 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.07 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.46 percent, Yankuang Energy retreated 1.56 percent, PetroChina perked 0.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.64 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 2.07 percent, China Shenhua Energy dipped 0.25 percent, Gemdale eased 0.13 percent, Poly Developments slid 0.22 percent, China Vanke dropped 0.94 percent, China Fortune Land plummeted 6.34 percent and Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Thursday but faded late and ended modestly in the red.

The Dow dropped 237.40 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 35,282.72, while the NASDAQ slumped 77.17 points or 0.55 percent to close at 14,050.11 and the S&P 500 fell 29.34 points or 0.64 percent to end at 4,537.41.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from the likes of Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and fast food giant McDonald’s (MCD).

Stocks also initially benefitted from the release of a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department showing an unexpected acceleration in the pace of economic growth in the second quarter.

However, the upbeat data subsequently raised some concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Wednesday’s monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve.

Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday thanks to prospects of tighter supply in the market due to production cuts by OPEC and allies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September jumped $1.31 or 1.7 percent at $80.09 a barrel.